Encapsulation of material with precious and semi-precious stones

ABSTRACT

A protective apparatus includes a gemstone and a foreign material encapsulated and physically isolated within an interior space of the gemstone. The gemstone is one of a precious gemstone or a semi-precious gemstone or a semi-precious stone.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/490,284, filed on Apr. 26, 2017, which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Protecting valuable material from detrimental or damaging effects isimportant and valuable to consumers. The protection may includeprotection from tampering, theft, loss, contamination,misidentification, adulteration, and/or some combination thereof.Various ways exist for protecting valuable materials, but all exhibitshortcomings.

SUMMARY

The subject matter of the present application has been developed inresponse to the present state of the art, and in particular, in responseto the problems and disadvantages associated with conventionaltechniques for protecting valuable materials that have not yet beenfully solved by currently available techniques. Accordingly, the subjectmatter of the present application has been developed to provideembodiments of an apparatus and a method for protecting valuablematerials with precious and semi-precious stones that overcome at leastsome of the above-discussed shortcomings of prior art techniques.

Disclosed herein is a protective apparatus. The protective apparatusincludes a gemstone and a foreign material encapsulated and physicallyisolated within an interior space of the gemstone, wherein the gemstoneis one of a precious gemstone or a semi-precious gemstone or asemi-precious stone. The preceding subject matter of this paragraphcharacterizes example 1 of the present disclosure.

The gemstone is polished or cut. The preceding subject matter of thisparagraph characterizes example 2 of the present disclosure, whereinexample 2 also includes the subject matter according to example 1,above.

The gemstone includes an opening to the interior space, wherein theopening is sealed with a sealing material. The preceding subject matterof this paragraph characterizes example 3 of the present disclosure,wherein example 3 also includes the subject matter according to any oneof examples 1-2, above.

The sealing material and the gemstone is a same material. The precedingsubject matter of this paragraph characterizes example 4 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 4 also includes the subject matter accordingto example 3, above.

The gemstone entirely surrounds the foreign material and wherein thegemstone includes a volume greater than two times a volume of theforeign material. The preceding subject matter of this paragraphcharacterizes example 5 of the present disclosure, wherein example 5also includes the subject matter according to any one of examples 1-4,above.

The gemstone is a synthetic precious gemstone encapsulating andphysically isolating the foreign material within the interior space andthe gemstone is a first gemstone. The foreign material is a secondgemstone chemically different than the first gemstone. The precedingsubject matter of this paragraph characterizes example 6 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 6 also includes the subject matter accordingto any one of examples 3-5, above.

The foreign material is a non-terrestrial material. The precedingsubject matter of this paragraph characterizes example 7 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 7 also includes the subject matter accordingto any one of examples 1-6, above.

The non-terrestrial material is a lunar material. The preceding subjectmatter of this paragraph characterizes example 8 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 8 also includes the subject matter accordingto any one of examples 1-7, above.

The gemstone is a synthetic precious gemstone. The preceding subjectmatter of this paragraph characterizes example 9 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 9 also includes the subject matter accordingto any one of examples 1-8, above.

The gemstone is a natural precious gemstone. The preceding subjectmatter of this paragraph characterizes example 10 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 10 also includes the subject matteraccording to any one of examples 1-9, above.

Disclosed herein is a method. The method includes locating the foreignmaterial within a gemstone, wherein locating the foreign material withinthe gemstone comprises one of inserting the foreign material into aninterior space of the gemstone or growing the gemstone around theforeign material and the foreign material within the gemstone, whereinthe gemstone is one of a precious gemstone or a semi-precious gemstoneor a semi-precious stone. The preceding subject matter of this paragraphcharacterizes example 11 of the present disclosure.

Locating the foreign material within the gemstone includes inserting theforeign material into the interior space of the gemstone. The methodincludes forming an opening to the interior space within the gemstone.Inserting the foreign material includes inserting the foreign materialthrough the opening into the interior space of the gemstone.Encapsulating the foreign material includes sealing the opening of thegemstone with a sealing material. The preceding subject matter of thisparagraph characterizes example 12 of the present disclosure, whereinexample 12 also includes the subject matter according to example 11,above.

The method further includes polishing and cutting prior to forming theopening. The preceding subject matter of this paragraph characterizesexample 13 of the present disclosure, wherein example 13 also includesthe subject matter according to example 12, above.

The method further includes polishing and cutting after sealing theopening. The preceding subject matter of this paragraph characterizesexample 14 of the present disclosure, wherein example 14 also includesthe subject matter according to any one of examples 12-13, above.

The gemstone is a natural precious gemstone and the sealing the openingwith the sealing material includes chemically growing a syntheticprecious gemstone after inserting the foreign material into the interiorspace. The preceding subject matter of this paragraph characterizesexample 15 of the present disclosure, wherein example 15 also includesthe subject matter according to any one of examples 12-14, above.

The gemstone is a synthetic precious gemstone and the sealing theopening includes chemically growing the synthetic precious gemstoneafter inserting the foreign material into the interior space. Thepreceding subject matter of this paragraph characterizes example 16 ofthe present disclosure, wherein example 16 also includes the subjectmatter according to any one of examples 12-15, above.

The method further includes laser etching an identification insigniawithin the interior space of the precious or semi-precious gemstone orsemi-precious stone. The preceding subject matter of this paragraphcharacterizes example 17 of the present disclosure, wherein example 17also includes the subject matter according to any one of examples 11-16,above.

Forming the opening in the gemstone includes drilling the opening in theprecious or semi-precious gemstone or semi-precious stone. The precedingsubject matter of this paragraph characterizes example 18 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 18 also includes the subject matteraccording to any one of examples 12-17, above.

The method further includes laser etching an identification insignia onan exterior surface of the precious or semi-precious gemstone orsemi-precious stone. The preceding subject matter of this paragraphcharacterizes example 19 of the present disclosure, wherein example 19also includes the subject matter according to any one of examples 11-18,above.

The gemstone is a first gemstone and the foreign material is a secondgemstone chemically different from the gemstone. The preceding subjectmatter of this paragraph characterizes example 20 of the presentdisclosure, wherein example 20 also includes the subject matteraccording to any one of examples 11-19, above.

The described features, structures, advantages, and/or characteristicsof the subject matter of the present disclosure may be combined in anysuitable manner in one or more embodiments and/or implementations. Inthe following description, numerous specific details are provided toimpart a thorough understanding of embodiments of the subject matter ofthe present disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognizethat the subject matter of the present disclosure may be practicedwithout one or more of the specific features, details, components,materials, and/or methods of a particular embodiment or implementation.In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognizedin certain embodiments and/or implementations that may not be present inall embodiments or implementations. Further, in some instances,well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the subject matter ofthe present disclosure. The features and advantages of the subjectmatter of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent fromthe following description and appended claims, or may be learned by thepractice of the subject matter as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the subject matter may be more readilyunderstood, a more particular description of the subject matter brieflydescribed above will be rendered by reference to specific embodimentsthat are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the subject matter and arenot therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the subjectmatter will be described and explained with additional specificity anddetail through the use of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gemstone, according to one or moreexamples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gemstone with a cut made or formedin the gemstone, according to one or more examples of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the gemstone with a material foreign tothe gemstone inserted into an interior space of the gemstone, accordingto one or more examples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the gemstone with the material foreignto the gemstone sealed within the interior space of the gemstone,according to one or more examples of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart diagram of one embodiment of a methodfor encapsulating a material in a gemstone, according to one or moreexamples of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter of thepresent disclosure. Appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “inan embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may,but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. Similarly, theuse of the term “implementation” means an implementation having aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith one or more embodiments of the subject matter of the presentdisclosure, however, absent an express correlation to indicateotherwise, an implementation may be associated with one or moreembodiments.

Some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to the protection andpresentation of a valuable material within a gemstone. Gemstones,including precious gemstones, semi-precious gemstones, semi-preciousstones, amorphous gemstones, and organic gemstones, are pieces of stone(such as mineral crystal) that are used in jewelry and other adornments.Gemstones have aesthetic value to consumers based on the gemstonesappearance and/or physical properties. Consumers sometimes rely onlaboratories (institutes and associations) to grade and report on thequality of gemstones using various parameters, which for a diamond mayincludes color, cut, clarity, and carats. Gemstones may be characterizedin terms of their physical properties, such as refractive index,dispersion, specific gravity, hardness, cleavage, fracture, luster,transparency, or brilliance. Such physical properties may provideprotection to a foreign material as well as provide an aestheticallypleasing presentation of the foreign material.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of one embodiment of aprotective apparatus is shown. The protective apparatus includes agemstone 100 and a foreign material 104 encapsulated and physicallyisolated (from the environment) within the gemstone 100. The gemstone100 may be one of a precious gemstone, a semi-precious gemstone, asemi-precious stone, an amorphous gemstone, or an organic gemstone.Generally, the gemstone 100 is a stone that is configured to encapsulatea foreign material 104 and may be referred to as an encapsulationmaterial. The gemstone 100 is configured to protect and provide anaesthetically pleasing presentation of the foreign material 104. Thegemstone 100 is polished and cut. The gemstone 100 may be polished andcut prior to encapsulating the foreign material 104 and/or afterencapsulating the foreign material 104.

Precious gemstones include diamonds, rubies, emeralds, or sapphires.Semi-precious gemstones include crystalline stones not classified as aprecious gemstone that are transparent, semi-transparent, ortranslucent. Semi-precious stones include crystalline stones notclassified as precious gemstones that are opaque. Amorphous gemstonesinclude non-crystalline stones. Organic gemstones include non-mineralgemstones.

The gemstone 100 may be natural (e.g., naturally occurring) or synthetic(e.g., physically, optically, chemically identical to a natural gemstonebut created in laboratory conditions). As one example, the gemstone 100is a synthetic diamond gemstone including chemically grown crystallinecarbon. In another example, the gemstone 100 is a naturally occurringgemstone mineral, such as natural diamond. Therefore, the gemstone 100may be a naturally occurring gemstone mineral or a synthetic gemstonemineral. As contemplated herein, a synthetic gemstone includes amaterial made in a laboratory, but which shares virtually all chemical,optical, and physical characteristics of a natural counterpart.

According to some implementations, the gemstone 100, whether naturallyoccurring or synthetic, is a precious gemstone. Precious gemstonesinclude diamonds, rubies, emeralds, or sapphires. In someimplementations, the gemstone 100, whether naturally occurring orsynthetic, is a semi-precious gemstone. In some implementations, thegemstone 100, whether naturally occurring or synthetic, is asemi-precious stone. Examples of semi-precious gemstones andsemi-precious stones may include, but are not limited to, Agate, Amber,Amethyst, Citrine, Jade, Garnet, Aquamarine, Quartz, Beryl, Alexandrite,Serendibite, Grandidierite, Taaffeite, Musgravite, Benitoite,Poudretteite, Jeremejevite, etc. The above list is not an exhaustivelist of semi-precious gemstones and semi-precious stones, and the scopeof embodiments of the present subject matter should not be limited tothose specifically enumerated herein. In some embodiments, the foreignmaterial is encapsulated in other encapsulation materials, such asamorphous gemstones (e.g. zircon, opal, etc.), or organic gemstones(e.g. ivory, coral).

In some embodiments, the gemstone 100 entirely surrounds the foreignmaterial 104 to encase the foreign material 104 and protect the foreignmaterial 104 from external contaminants.

In some embodiments, the gemstone 100 includes an opening 102 on asurface of the gemstone 100 allowing access to the interior space 108.In other embodiments, the gemstone 100 is formed directly around theforeign material 104 without any opening 102. Referring to FIG. 2, thegemstone 100 includes an opening 102 formed into the gemstone 100. Theopening 102 allows access to an interior space 108 of the gemstone 100.In some embodiments, the opening 102 is cut into the gemstone 100. Inother embodiments, the opening 102 is formed using any of a variety ofmethods other than cutting. The opening 102, in some implementations, islaser cut, drilled, shaped, and/or grown to form the opening 102. Theinterior space 108 can be formed in the same or a similar manner. Forexample, during the growing of a synthetic gemstone in a laboratory, thegrowth may be constrained or compelled to form the opening 102 and theinterior space 108 within the gemstone 100. In another example, theopening 102 is drilled into the gemstone 100 as may occur with a naturalgemstone. The size and location of the interior space 108 may varydepending on the characteristics of a material to be inserted into theinterior space 108 (see, e.g., the foreign material 104 in FIG. 3). Theinterior space 108 may be centered in the gemstone 100 or located inanother suitable interior location within the gemstone 100 that permitsor allows a visual inspection of the interior space 108, as well asprotects the interior space 108. In some embodiments, the opening 102 isformed or cut into the top surface of the gemstone 100. The opening 102may also be formed or cut into a side surface of the gemstone 100. Theopening 102, in other embodiments, may be formed or cut into a bottomsurface of the gemstone 100. Some embodiments may include more than oneopening 102 to allow for the insertion of more than one foreign materialinto the gemstone 100. The opening 102, in some embodiments may be lessthan 0.1 mm. In other embodiments, the opening 102 is larger than 1 mm.In some embodiments, the opening 102 may be between 0.1 mm and 1 mm.

Referring to FIG. 3, a foreign material 104 is inserted into theinterior space 108 of the gemstone 100. In some embodiments, the foreignmaterial 104 is a non-terrestrial or extraterrestrial material,including but not limited to, lunar material (moon rock or lunarrock/glass/metal etc.), meteorite, or other non-terrestrial matteroriginating from any location outside of the Earth's atmosphere,including the Moon, the Planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids,meteors, comets, stars, and/or other celestial objects. Moon rocks andother non-terrestrial materials brought to the Earth may be extremelyvaluable but, in many instances, may be difficult to distinguish fromordinary terrestrial material. Determining the origin of a material andprotecting such material from tampering, theft, loss, contamination,misidentification, adulteration etc. may prove valuable and important toa consumer. Such protection, according to embodiments described herein,may be provided by a gemstone 100. While moon rock may lookindistinguishable from ordinary terrestrial rock, encapsulating the moonrock in a precious or semi-precious gemstone may enhance the beauty orsentimental value of an already valuable material while protecting themoon rock from misidentification or tampering.

While the illustrated embodiment depicts moon rock as the foreignmaterial 104, which is inserted into the interior space of gemstone 100,the foreign material 104 may be a terrestrial material, having anaesthetic or sentimental value to a consumer. The foreign material 104is a protected and presented within an interior space of the gemstone100. The foreign material 104, in some implementations, may include, butis not limited to, rocks, minerals, crystals, other gemstones, glasses,ceramics, metals, alloys, polymers, liquids, gases and/or somecombination thereof.

The foreign material 104 may be prepared by any of various means priorto inserting the foreign material 104 into the gemstone 100. Forexample, a moon rock may be cut, ground, broken, crushed, shaped,melted, or otherwise processed into a size and/or shape to accommodatethe interior space of the gemstone 100. For extremely valuable material,the size/amount of material to be inserted into and protected within agemstone need not be large.

In some embodiments, an identification insignia may be inscribed toidentify gemstone 100 and/or the foreign material 104. In someembodiments, the interior space of the gemstone 100 may be permanentlylaser etched with an identification insignia to identify the gemstone100, the foreign material 104, the owner, and/or any other identifyinginformation that may be used to protect or prove the authenticity and/orvalue of the gemstone 100 and foreign material 104. In some embodiments,the identification insignia may be etched into the surface of theinterior space prior to inserting the foreign material 104. In someembodiments, the identification insignia may be etched on the exteriorof the gemstone 100. In some implementations, the identificationinsignia may be etched on the exterior of the gemstone 100 afterinsertion of the foreign material 104. In some embodiments, anidentification device is inserted into the interior space along with theforeign material 104. The identification device may include a devicethat transmits a signal out of the gemstone 100 that uniquely identifiesthe foreign material 104. The identification device may be a RFIDdevice, such as a micro RFID chip, or other near field communicationtechnology. An identification device may be necessary to identify theforeign material 104 when an opaque semi-precious stone is used toencapsulate the foreign material.

In some embodiments, the opening 102 is sealed with a sealing material106. Referring to FIG. 4, the gemstone 100 is shown with the opening 102sealed by a sealing material 106 (e.g., a cap) to fully encapsulate theforeign material 104 within the interior space of the gemstone 100. Withthe foreign material 104 encapsulated within the gemstone 100, thegemstone physically isolates and protects the foreign material 104 fromexternal elements while providing a pleasing presentation of the foreignmaterial 104. In some embodiments, the sealing material 106 is formed,to seal the interior space 108 by growing a synthetic gemstone, similarto the original gemstone 100, within the opening 102. As the syntheticgemstone grows within the opening 102, the interior space 108 and theforeign material 104 is sealed within and protected from externalelements.

In some embodiments, the sealing material 106 and the gemstone 100 is asame material. As an example, the gemstone 100 may be a natural diamondwith a drilled or cut opening 102 and the sealing material 106 may be asynthetic diamond grown in the opening 102. In another example, thegemstone 100 may be a sapphire and the sealing material 106 may be asecond sapphire that is adhered to the gemstone 100 within the opening102.

In some embodiments, the opening may be sealed by positioning anotherpiece of synthetic gemstone within the opening and chemically bondingthe other piece of synthetic gemstone. In some embodiments, the openingis filled with a different material than that of the original gemstoneto seal the interior space. After enclosing the foreign material 104within the gemstone 100, the gemstone 100 may be cut and polished in amanner known to those skilled in the art for preparing jewelry.

In some embodiments, the gemstone 100 is a synthetic precious gemstoneencapsulating and physically isolating the foreign material within theinterior space and foreign material a different precious gemstone. As anexample, the gemstone 100 may be a synthetic diamond encapsulating aruby.

In some embodiments, the foreign material 104 is a non-terrestrialmaterial. As an example, the non-terrestrial material may be lunarmaterial (e.g., rock, glass, metal, etc.). In some embodiments, theforeign material 104 is a terrestrial material. In some embodiments, thegemstone 100 is a synthetic precious gemstone encapsulating andphysically isolating the foreign material within the interior space. Insome embodiments, the gemstone is a natural precious gemstoneencapsulating and physically isolating the foreign material within theinterior space.

The gemstone has physical properties that can provide physicalprotection to the foreign material 104 while also providing anaesthetically pleasing presentation of the foreign material 104.Physical properties of the gemstone 100 that may provide for protectioninclude hardness, strength, chemical resistance, thermal resistance,etc. In some embodiments, the foreign material 104 is physicallyisolated from the surrounding environment by the gemstone 100. In someembodiments, the gemstone 100 is not a thin coating but includes asignificantly larger volume than a volume of the foreign material. Insome implementations, the gemstone 100 includes a volume greater thantwo times a volume of the foreign material 104. In some implementations,the gemstone 100 includes a volume ten times greater than a volume ofthe foreign material 104.

Various examples are described herein. In a first example,non-terrestrial material is acquired from the Moon. The non-terrestrialmaterial includes rock, mineral, glass, and/or metal. Thenon-terrestrial material is cut, ground, broken, crushed, shaped, and/ormelted into smaller pieces. Synthetic diamond gemstone includingcrystalline carbon is cut, drilled, shaped, and/or grown to allowinsertion of the small piece of non-terrestrial material into thediamond. The opening in the diamond is sealed to encapsulate, contain,enclose, or physically isolate the non-terrestrial material. The sealingis accomplished by one of many methods including, but not limited to,chemical growth of diamond in the opening, chemical bonding anotherpiece of diamond to cover opening, or filling the opening with anon-diamond material. The diamond encapsulating the non-terrestrialmaterial is cut and polished into a gemstone. The diamond gemstoneencapsulating the non-terrestrial material is then mounted in jewelry.

In a second example, a synthetic sapphire or ruby gemstone including themineral corundum, an aluminum oxide, is cut, drilled, shaped, and/orgrown to allow insertion of the small piece of non-terrestrial materialinto the gemstone. The opening in the sapphire or ruby gemstone issealed to encapsulate, contain or enclose the non-terrestrial material.The sealing is accomplished by one of many methods including, but notlimited to, chemical growth of corundum in the opening, chemical bondinganother piece of corundum to cover the opening, or filling the openingwith non-corundum material. The sapphire or ruby encapsulating thenon-terrestrial material is cut and polished into a gemstone. Thesapphire or ruby gemstone encapsulating the non-terrestrial material isthen mounted in jewelry.

In a third example, a synthetic emerald gemstone including the mineralberyl is cut, drilled, shaped, and/or grown to allow insertion of thesmall piece of non-terrestrial material, as described in the firstexample, into the gemstone. The opening in the emerald gemstone issealed to encapsulate, contain or enclose the non-terrestrial material.The sealing is accomplished by one of many methods including, but notlimited to, chemical growth of beryl in the opening, chemical bondinganother piece of beryl to cover the opening, or filling the opening withnon- beryl material. The emerald encapsulating the non-terrestrialmaterial is cut and polished into a gemstone. The emerald gemstoneencapsulating the non-terrestrial material is mounted in jewelry.

In a fourth example, a synthetic or natural semi-precious amber is cut,drilled, shaped, and/or grown to allow insertion of the small piece ofnon-terrestrial material, as described in the first example, into thegemstone. The opening in the amber is sealed to encapsulate, contain, orenclose the non-terrestrial material. The sealing is accomplished by oneof many methods including, but not limited to, chemical growth of amberin opening, chemical bonding another piece of amber to cover opening, orfilling opening with non-amber material. The amber encapsulating thenon-terrestrial material is smoothed and polished into a gemstone. Theamber gemstone encapsulating the non-terrestrial material is mounted injewelry.

In a fifth example, a synthetic or natural semi-precious amethyst and/orquartz is cut, drilled, shaped, and/or grown to allow insertion of thesmall piece of non-terrestrial material, as described in the firstexample, into the gemstone. The opening in the amethyst and/or quartz issealed to encapsulate, contain or enclose the non-terrestrial material.The sealing is accomplished by one of many methods including, but notlimited to, chemical growth of amethyst and/or quartz in the opening,chemical bonding another piece of amethyst and/or quartz to cover theopening, or filling the opening with non-amethyst and/or quartzmaterial. The amethyst and/or quartz encapsulating the non-terrestrialmaterial is cut and/or smoothed and polished into a gemstone. Theamethyst and/or quartz gemstone encapsulating the non-terrestrialmaterial may be mounted in jewelry.

In a sixth example, a gemstone 100 is grown around the foreign material104 using chemical vapor deposition or another similar mechanism. Inimplementations where the gemstone 100 is grown around the foreignmaterial 104, there is no need to drill or otherwise create an openingor plug an opening. In one implementation, a diamond is grown around aforeign material 104. In one implementation, a pearl is grown around aforeign material 104.

Methods for protecting a foreign material are disclosed herein.Referring to FIG. 5, a schematic flowchart diagram of one embodiment ofa method 500 for protecting a foreign material is shown. The method 500includes locating 510 the foreign material within a gemstone, whereinlocating the foreign material within the gemstone includes one ofinserting the foreign material into an interior space of the gemstone orgrowing the gemstone around the foreign material, encapsulating 520 theforeign material within the gemstone. The gemstone is one of a preciousgemstone, a semi-precious gemstone, or a semi-precious stone. The methodthen ends.

In some embodiments, locating the foreign material within the gemstoneincludes inserting the foreign material into the interior space of thegemstone. In some embodiments, the method includes forming an opening tothe interior space within the gemstone. In some embodiments, insertingthe foreign material includes inserting the foreign material through theopening into the interior space of the gemstone. In some embodiments,encapsulating the foreign material includes sealing the opening of thegemstone with a sealing material.

In some embodiments, the method includes polishing and cutting prior toforming the opening. In some embodiments, the method includes polishingand cutting after sealing the opening. In some embodiments, the gemstoneis a natural precious gemstone and the sealing the opening with thesealing material includes chemically growing a synthetic preciousgemstone in the opening after inserting the foreign material into theinterior space. In some embodiments, the gemstone is a syntheticprecious gemstone and the sealing the opening includes chemicallygrowing the synthetic precious gemstone in the opening after insertingthe foreign material into the interior space of the gemstone.

In some embodiments, the method further includes laser etching anidentification insignia within the interior space of the precious orsemi-precious gemstone or semi-precious stone. In some embodiments, themethod further includes laser etching an identification insignia on anexterior surface of the precious or semi-precious gemstone orsemi-precious stone.

In some embodiments, the forming the opening in the gemstone includesdrilling the opening in the gemstone. In some embodiments, the gemstoneis a first gemstone and the foreign material is a second gemstonechemically different from the gemstone.

The schematic flow chart diagrams included herein are generally setforth as logical flow chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order andlabeled steps are indicative of one embodiment of the presented method.Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent infunction, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, ofthe illustrated method. Additionally, the format and symbols employedare provided to explain the logical steps of the method and areunderstood not to limit the scope of the method. Although various arrowtypes and line types may be employed in the flow chart diagrams, theyare understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding method.Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only thelogical flow of the method. For instance, an arrow may indicate awaiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumeratedsteps of the depicted method. Additionally, the order in which aparticular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order ofthe corresponding steps shown.

In the above description, certain terms may be used such as “up,”“down,” “upper,” “lower,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “left,” “right,” andthe like. These terms are used, where applicable, to provide someclarity of description when dealing with relative relationships. But,these terms are not intended to imply absolute relationships, positions,and/or orientations. For example, with respect to an object, an “upper”surface can become a “lower” surface simply by turning the object over.Nevertheless, it is still the same object. Further, the terms“including,” “comprising,” “having,” and variations thereof mean“including but not limited to” unless expressly specified otherwise. Anenumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the itemsare mutually exclusive and/or mutually inclusive, unless expresslyspecified otherwise. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” also refer to “oneor more” unless expressly specified otherwise. Further, the term“plurality” can be defined as “at least two.”

As used herein, a system, apparatus, structure, article, element,component, or hardware “configured to” perform a specified function isindeed capable of performing the specified function without anyalteration, rather than merely having potential to perform the specifiedfunction after further modification. In other words, the system,apparatus, structure, article, element, component, or hardware“configured to” perform a specified function is specifically selected,created, implemented, utilized, programmed, and/or designed for thepurpose of performing the specified function. As used herein,“configured to” denotes existing characteristics of a system, apparatus,structure, article, element, component, or hardware which enable thesystem, apparatus, structure, article, element, component, or hardwareto perform the specified function without further modification. Forpurposes of this disclosure, a system, apparatus, structure, article,element, component, or hardware described as being “configured to”perform a particular function may additionally or alternatively bedescribed as being “adapted to” and/or as being “operative to” performthat function.

Additionally, instances in this specification where one element is“coupled” to another element can include direct and indirect coupling.Direct coupling can be defined as one element coupled to and in somecontact with another element. Indirect coupling can be defined ascoupling between two elements not in direct contact with each other, buthaving one or more additional elements between the coupled elements.Further, as used herein, securing one element to another element caninclude direct securing and indirect securing. Additionally, as usedherein, “adjacent” does not necessarily denote contact. For example, oneelement can be adjacent another element without being in contact withthat element.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of”, when used with a list ofitems, means different combinations of one or more of the listed itemsmay be used and only one of the items in the list may be needed. Theitem may be a particular object, thing, or category. In other words, “atleast one of” means any combination of items or number of items may beused from the list, but not all of the items in the list may berequired. For example, “at least one of item A, item B, and item C” maymean item A; item A and item B; item B; item A, item B, and item C; oritem B and item C. In some cases, “at least one of item A, item B, anditem C” may mean, for example, without limitation, two of item A, one ofitem B, and ten of item C; four of item B and seven of item C; or someother suitable combination.

The present subject matter may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Thedescribed embodiments are to be considered in all respects only asillustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is: 1-10. (canceled)
 11. A method for protecting a foreign material, the method comprising: locating the foreign material within a gemstone, wherein locating the foreign material within the gemstone comprises one of inserting the foreign material into an interior space of the gemstone or growing the gemstone around the foreign material; and encapsulating the foreign material within the gemstone; wherein the gemstone is one of a precious gemstone, a semi-precious gemstone, or a semi-precious stone.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein: the method further comprises forming an opening to the interior space within the gemstone; locating the foreign material within the gemstone comprises inserting the foreign material into the interior space of the gemstone; inserting the foreign material comprises inserting the foreign material through the opening into the interior space of the gemstone; and encapsulating the foreign material comprises sealing the opening of the gemstone with a sealing material.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising polishing and cutting prior to forming the opening.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising polishing and cutting after sealing the opening.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein: the gemstone is a natural precious gemstone; and sealing the opening with the sealing material comprises chemically growing a synthetic precious gemstone in the opening after inserting the foreign material into the interior space of the gemstone.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein: the gemstone is a synthetic precious gemstone; and sealing the opening comprises chemically growing a synthetic precious gemstone material in the opening after inserting the foreign material into the interior space of the gemstone.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises laser etching an identification insignia within the interior space of the gemstone.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein forming the opening in the gemstone comprises drilling the opening in the gemstone.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises laser etching an identification insignia on an exterior surface of the gemstone.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein: the gemstone is a first gemstone; and the foreign material is a second gemstone chemically different than the first gemstone.
 21. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of locating the foreign material within the gemstone comprises growing the gemstone around the foreign material.
 22. The method of claim 11, wherein: the foreign material comprises a lunar material; and the lunar material has a maximum dimension of less than or equal to 1.0 mm.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the lunar material has a maximum dimension of less than or equal to 0.1 mm.
 24. The method of claim 11, wherein the foreign material has a maximum dimension of less than or equal to 1.0 mm.
 25. The method of claim 11, wherein the foreign material has a maximum dimension of less than or equal to 0.1 mm.
 26. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of forming the opening to the interior space within the gemstone comprises forming the opening from an exterior surface of the gemstone to the interior space of the gemstone.
 27. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of sealing the opening with the sealing material comprises: positioning the sealing material within the opening; and adhering the sealing material to a portion of the gemstone defining the opening.
 28. The method of claim 12, wherein the opening has a maximum cross-sectional dimension between 0.1 mm and 1 mm.
 29. The method of claim 12, wherein the opening has a maximum cross-sectional dimension less than 0.1 mm.
 30. The method of claim 12, wherein: the step of locating the foreign material within the gemstone comprises inserting the foreign material into the interior space of the gemstone; the method further comprises growing the gemstone; and the method further comprises constraining or compelling growth of the gemstone to form the interior space and the opening of the gemstone. 